Reclaiming Our Children: A Blog About Healing After Abortion

I was so happy to see that the Bishops mention the pain and suffering of women and men from abortion in their statement. For those of you who have not seen it:

STATEMENT of the President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
"If the Lord does not build the house, in vain do its builders labor;
if the Lord does not watch over the city, in vain does the watchman
keep vigil." (Psalm 127, vs. 1)

The Bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States welcome this
moment of historic transition and look forward to working with
President-elect Obama and the members of the new Congress for the
common good of all. Because of the Church's history and the scope of
her ministries in this country, we want to continue our work for
economic justice and opportunity for all; our efforts to reform laws
around immigration and the situation of the undocumented; our provision
of better education and adequate health care for all, especially for
women and children; our desire to safeguard religious freedom and
foster peace at home and abroad. The Church is intent on doing good and
will continue to cooperate gladly with the government and all others
working for these goods.

The fundamental good is life itself, a gift from God and our parents. A
good state protects the lives of all. Legal protection for those
members of the human family waiting to be born in this country was
removed when the Supreme Court decided Roe vs. Wade in 1973. This was
bad law. The danger the Bishops see at this moment is that a bad court
decision will be enshrined in bad legislation that is more radical than
the 1973 Supreme Court decision itself.

In the last Congress, a Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) was introduced
that would, if brought forward in the same form today, outlaw any
"interference" in providing abortion at will. It would deprive the
American people in all fifty states of the freedom they now have to
enact modest restraints and regulations on the abortion industry. FOCA
would coerce all Americans into subsidizing and promoting abortion with
their tax dollars. It would counteract any and all sincere efforts by
government and others of good will to reduce the number of abortions in
our country.

Parental notification and informed consent precautions would be
outlawed, as would be laws banning procedures such as partial-birth
abortion and protecting infants born alive after a failed abortion.
Abortion clinics would be deregulated. The Hyde Amendment restricting
the federal funding of abortions would be abrogated. FOCA would have
lethal consequences for prenatal human life.

FOCA would have an equally destructive effect on the freedom of
conscience of doctors, nurses and health care workers whose personal
convictions do not permit them to cooperate in the private killing of
unborn children. It would threaten Catholic health care institutions
and Catholic Charities. It would be an evil law that would further
divide our country, and the Church should be intent on opposing evil.

On this issue, the legal protection of the unborn, the bishops are of
one mind with Catholics and others of good will. They are also pastors
who have listened to women whose lives have been diminished because
they believed they had no choice but to abort a baby. Abortion is a
medical procedure that kills, and the psychological and spiritual
consequences are written in the sorrow and depression of many women and
men. The bishops are single-minded because they are, first of all,
single-hearted.

The recent election was principally decided out of concern for the
economy, for the loss of jobs and homes and financial security for
families, here and around the world. If the election is misinterpreted
ideologically as a referendum on abortion, the unity desired by
President-elect Obama and all Americans at this moment of crisis will
be impossible to achieve. Abortion kills not only unborn children; it
destroys constitutional order and the common good, which is assured
only when the life of every human being is legally protected.
Aggressively pro-abortion policies, legislation and executive orders
will permanently alienate tens of millions of Americans, and would be
seen by many as an attack on the free exercise of their religion.

This statement is written at the request and direction of all the
Bishops, who also want to thank all those in politics who work with
good will to protect the lives of the most vulnerable among us. Those
in public life do so, sometimes, at the cost of great sacrifice to
themselves and their families; and we are grateful. We express again
our great desire to work with all those who cherish the common good of
our nation. The common good is not the sum total of individual desires
and interests; it is achieved in the working out of a common life based
upon good reason and good will for all.

Our prayers accompany President-elect Obama and his family and those
who are cooperating with him to assure a smooth transition in
government. Many issues demand immediate attention on the part of our
elected "watchman." (Psalm 127) May God bless him and our country.